Oil, Gas & Petrochemical
As early as 1953, Kuwait Oxygen & Acetylene Co. Pioneered to be the first gas
manufacturing facility
in the Gulf region providing oxygen to the flourishing local petroleum industry. Over the time,
the economic
& industrial expansion & by virtue of being in the nerve center of Gulf’s oil reach region a
need for
specialized manufacturer with a clear focus on industrial customers arouse. This led to the
establishment
of Kuwait Industrial Gases Company (KIGC) in 1971, which is another addition to Gulf Cryo
Holding. Since
then the company has been manufacturing and delivering gases to region’s oil sector.
Oil & Gas
Nitrogen is Gulf Cryo's leading product for the oil & gas sector, it is widely used in
refineries thanks to
its inerting properties. In normal refinery operations, N2 is used for blanketing of tanks,
preventing the
release of hydrocarbon emission, or preventing the ingress of oxygen into vacuum units. N2 is
also used to
calm chemical reactions and safety shutdown, or start-up the various units that constitute the
refinery.
Environmental regulations have helped Gulf Cryo supply increasing amount of hydrogen to
refineries. H2 is
mainly used to achieve lower sulfur content in hydrocrackers, and hydro-treaters. To further
improve on
sulphur recovery efficiency, oxygen is injected in a claus type sulfur unit, thus providing a
capacity
advantage as well as combustion efficiency at the furnace. In addition to sulphur recovery
applications, O2
is widely used for breaking heavy hydrocarbons during the catalytic cracking process.
Oil service companies also rely on Gulf Cryo to supply nitrogen mainly used for oil well
pressurization, and
purging applications.
Petrochemicals
Oxygen is used in its purest form as process oxygen constituting the oxidizing agent in
chemical reactions
such as in the production of ethylene oxide. It is also used in either its pure or impure
form for
debottlenecking needs, by enriching combustion in air oxidation processes. As for nitrogen,
process usages
are somewhat limited to applications such as carrier gas, temperature control, and catalyst
capabilities.
However, nitrogen usages are more important in applications relating to safety and services
needs such as
blanketing, purging, drying, fire extinction, instrument fluids, valve sealing and more.
Hydrogen usage in
the petrochemical industry are process based mainly in the production of cyclohexanes,
oxoachohols and
others.
Gulf Cryo has membership with the Compressed Gas Association (CGA), European Industrial
Gases Association
(EIGA), and International Oxygen Manufacturing Association (IOMA).
Gas Applications
Industrial gases have been used in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries ever since commercial production of oil has started. The applications and use of gases are expansive and vary with the operational requirements, Nitrogen gas is injected into oil wells in the coil tubing operation applications for improving the fluid recovery. Low explosion limit gas mixtures are used for checking the gas detectors in the refineries. At locations where carbon dioxide is available in economic qualities, it is injected into the oil wells for increasing productivity, a process called Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).